Repeating phonograph



J. H. LING. REPEATING PHONOGRAPH.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29. 1920. 1,418,584. P tented June 6, 1922,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- J? 39 g M) abto'unuf J. H. LING.

REPEATING PHONOGRAPH. 7

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 29,1920.

- Patented June 6,1922.

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v ACOB H. LING, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

' REPEATING PHONOGBAPH.

- I To all whom-it may concern:

Be it known that Jason H. LING, a citizen 1 of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the'county of Wayne and State l4, which upon collapse of said pneumatic,

of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RepeatingPhonographs, of Which the following is a specification, reference being had thereintothe accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a repeating phonograph. l-

The invention consists in the structural features and arrangements of parts hereinafter fully describedand illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein;

-Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved phonograph;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 22 of Figure 1'; and showing the mechanism of the phonograph in front elevation;

Figure 3 is, a horizontal sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 44 of Figure '3 and showing the parts of the phonograph in side elevation.

Figure 5 is a vertical section on line 55 of Figure 3, illustrating certain air passages;

Figure 6 1s a vertical section taken on line 66 of Figure 3 showing certain valve mechanism carried by a swlnglng arm;

F igure 7 1s a vertical section on line 7-! Y of Figure 3 showing a pneumatic action.

In these views the reference character 1 designates the casing of a phonograph, 2 the turn-tablethereof, 3 a record resting on said turn-table, 4a motor for driving the turn table, 5 a tone arm mounted to swing both vertically and horizontally, 6 the sound box carried by said tone arm and 7 the reproducing needle carried by said sound box, all of said parts being combined in the usual well known manner. Adjacent the swivel end of the tone arm a rod 8 projects upwardly through the casing l and rigidly carries the horizontal arm 9 extending beneath the tone I arm 5, carrying a pair of upstanding pins 10 normally engaging at each side of the tone arm. The rod 8 extends downwardly within the casing 1 to engage a bearing member 11 secured to the casing bottom. Pneumatics 12 and 13 are reversely secured to the hearing block 11, one at each side thereof, said pneumatics being employed respectively to raise the rod 8 and arm 9 and thus lift the Specification of Lettersratent. Pat t J n Application filed December 29, 1920. Serial No; 433,865.

tone arm,- and to rock said rod when in raised position to swing the tone arm outwardly. The pneumatic 12 carries an arm exerts an upthrust upon the rear end portion of the horizontalpin 15 rigidly carried by the rod 8, and the pneumatic .13 upon collapsing exerts a horizontal thrust through a push rod 16 upon the forward end of said pin to rock the rod 8 and thus swing the tone arm outwardly. Exhaustion of the two pneumatics 12 and 13 is effected by a relatively large pneumatic 17 which in turn is adapted to be exhausted through a flexible tube 18 by a bellows pump 19 driven by the motor 4. Said pump may be driven through any suitable mechanism, but it is preferred to mount a cam 20 upon a. shaft 21, driven by the motor 4, which cam engages a .roller 22 upon an arm23 operatively connected to said ump. The pneumatic 17 is adapted sage 24*. The connection established through the tube 24 is under a primary and secondary control to provide for proper energization of the pneumatics 12 and 13 in predetermined positions of the tone arin.

Describing first the primary control, 25 is a forwardly projecting arm mounted fast upon the lower end of the rod 8 and carrying at its forward end a valve block 26 which may be formed of'wood or some other suitable material. For accommodation of said arm, the bearing member 11 is apertured as indicated at 27.

As is best disclosed in Figure 6, the block 26 is formed with a longitudinal passage 28 which is transversely intersected by a valve 29 havingthe nature of a pin adapted to under-go a restricted sliding movement. The extremities of said pin respectively carry buttons 30 and 31, which through engagement with the sides of the block 26 limit the stroke of said valve 29'. When the button 30 presses against the block 26, a port 32 transversely piercing the valve 29 is registered with the passage 28 so that the end portions of said passage are in communication. When the other button 31 is pressed it ainst said block, an imperforate portlon of said valve registers with the passage 28 closing the same. The valve 29 is adapted to be shifted between its two limiting posi tions by engagement of the buttons 30 or 31 with two adjustable blocks 33 having aligned grooves 34 in their top ends engaging a horizontal guide rod 35 and having similar bottom grooves engaging a guide rod 36 which is in the nature of a crank having pivotal end portions 37 adapted to swing vertically. A pair of coil sprlngs 38 exert an upward thrust upon the guide rod 36, said springs being set in sultable sockets 1n the base plate 39 which supports the bearing member 11 and pneumatlcs l2 and 13 in unitary relation. The springs 38 act to clamp the blocks 33 between the fixed and movable guide rods 35 and 36 1n various spaced relations as will presently be made clear. In accomplishing this result said springs overcome the effort of a pair of V- shaped wire springs 40 which constantly urge the blocks 33 toward each other. Through exertion of a slight pressure upon the exposed upper end of the r0d 8 the springs 38 may be overcome, said ressure being transmitted to the moveable; guide rod 36 by the arm 25 and block 26. Under such conditions the blocks 33 are urged by the springs 40 into opposite contact with the valve block 26. When the arm 25 is swung through an are by. rocking of the rod 8, the block 33 toward which said arm is swung is adjusted away from the companion block 33 by pressure of said arm and will maintain its adjusted position by virtue of the clamping springs 38 subsequent to return of the arm 25 to its initial position. The passage 28 in the block 26 is open. at one end and at its other end is in communication with a flexible tube 41.

Describing now the secondary control for the connection established by the tube 24, 42 is a pneumatic action which surmounts the pneumatic 17, and which comprises a rectangular block built up preferably of several strips to facilitate manufacture. Said block is interiorly formed with three chambers 43, 44 and 45 arranged one above another. The intermediate chamber 44 is in communication with the pneumatic 17 by a passage 46 while the upper chamber 43 is connected by a passage 47 with the tube 24. Communication between the upper and intermediate chambers is controlled by a disk valve 48 having the depending stem 49. Between said intermediate chamber and ,the lowermost chamber 45 there is interposed a diaphragm 50 formed of sheet rubber or other suitable material and within the chamber 44 there is centrally secured to said diaphragm a thrust bearing 51 engaging the lower end of the stem 49. The chamber 45 is connected by a passage 52 with the flexible tube 41 which leads to the valve block 26. A minute passage or bleeder 53 connects the intermediate and lower chambers and a similar restricted passage 54 opens from the upper passage 43 to the atmosphere.

With the turn table 2 there is associated an automatic braking device comprising a lever 55 intermediately pivoted in a bearing 56 surmounting the casing, one end of said lever being provided with a brake member 56 adapted to frictionally engage under face of the turn table adjacent the periphery thereof and the other lever extremity being bent through a right angle as indicated at 57 to form a rest for the sound box. Thus, the weight of the sound box and tone arm upon the bent extremity of said lever is caused to act through said lever to exert a braking pressure upon the turn table so as to hold the latter stationary when said lever is engaged by the'sound box.

Considering now the operation of the described invention, when it is desired to repeat a record or a portion thereof, the tone arm is first shifted to dispose the needle in starting position, (ordinarily in the outermost groove of the record). A slight pressure is then exerted uponthe projecting upper end of the rod 8. Finally the tone arm is shifted to dispose the needle at the point terminating the rendition which is to be repeated (this point ordinarily being the innermost groove of the record.) It is to be understood that while these preliminary adjustments of the tonearm are being made the same will be engaged between the pins 10 on the arm 9 so that the latter will swing in unison with said arm. By depressing the rod 8 after the tone arm is in initial position for reproducing, thetwo blocks 33 are relieved and the motor started. As the tone arm-is gradually fed inwardly through engagement with the record the rod 8 is correspondingly rocked so that the valve block 26 gradually approaches the left hand block 33. As the tone arm reaches its final position of playing, the left hand block 33 through engagement with the button 30, shifts the valve member 29 to register the port thereof with the passage 28. This places the lowermost chamber 45 of the pneumatic action in free communication with the atmosphere. At this time the pneumatic 17 will be collapsed owing to the exhaustion thereof by the bellows pump 19, the exhaustion having been taking place during the inward shifting of the tone as just described, to the lower chamber 45,.

the latter will also have been exhausted o w. ing to connection of the same by the bleeder passage 53 with the intermediate chamber. \Vhen air is admitted to the chamber 45, the pressure differential thus created between said chamber and the intermediate chamber results in an upper deflection of the diaphragm 50, resulting in unseating of the valve 48 (owing to engagement of the stem of saidvalve by the thrust-bearing 51). Unseating of said valve establishes connection between the upper and intermediate chambers 43 and 44 and consequently connects the tube 24 and pneumatic 17. 1 Thus exhaustion of the two pneumatics 12 and 13 is accomplished through the connection 24' and the pneumatic 12 on collapsing acts through the arm 14 upon the pin 15 to raise the rod 8 and thereby lift the tone arm and needle clear -of the record. The pneumatic 13 on collapsing acts through the push rod 16 upon the pin 15 to rock the rod 8 and thereby return the tone arm to its initial position. The action of the pneumatic 13 must be somewhat retarded beyond that of the pneumatic 12 so that there may be no tendency to swing the tone arm outwardly until the same has been raised clearof the record. This effect is secured by adjusting the screw 24 to increase the resistance of the portion of the passage 24 leading to the pneumatic 13 to a predetermined' extent beyond the portion of said passage leading to the pneumatic 12. Thus exhaustion of the pneumatic 13 is accomplished somewhat more slowly than that of the pneumatic 12, securing the desired retardation in actuation of the rod 8 by the pneumatic. As the tone arm reaches its initial playing position under impetus of the pneumatic 13 the right hand control block 33 is encountered by the button 31. This results in shifting of the valve 29 to its position closing the port 28 and consequently the lowermost chamber 45 with the pneumatic connection is cut off from the atmosphere. An equalization of the pressure in said chamber and the-intermediate chamber immediately takes place due to the connection established by the bleeder passage 53 and the valve 48 returns to its seat. Expansionof the two pneumatics 12 and 13 immediately follows due to admission of air to the upper chamber 43 through the bleeder passage 54 and thence through the tube 24 to said pneumatics. EX- pansion of the pneumatic 12 permits lowering of th rod 8 and engagement of the tone arm and needle with-the record in starting position. Expansion of the pneumatic 13 does not effect the rod 8 or the tone arm. This follows from the provision of a lost motion in the engagement of the push rod 16 with said pneumatic and with the arm 25 as is clearly disclosed in Figure 2. It is a further feature of the invention that provision may be made for automaticreturn ofthe tone arm-to its outermost position and automatic braking of the turn table in said position. Thus, ifit be desired to stop'the machine after playing of a record or a portion thereof, the tonearm is initially placed upon the brake lever, 55. Pressure is then momentarily exerted upon the upper end of the rod 8 so that the valve 1 w control blocks 33 will be shifted against the valve block 26. The tone arm is then shift- 1 invention that a very small portion-of the mechanism accomplishing repeating is exposed above the phonograph casing, said exposed portion comprising merely the upper end of the rod 8 and the arm 9 carried thereby. -It-is a further desirable feature ofthe invention that apart from the preliminary shifting of the tone arm first to its initial position and then to its final position, no manipulation is necessary to set the device for repeating other than the exertion of'a slight pressure upon the upper end of the rod 8.

WhatI claim as my invention is;

1. In a phonograph, the combination with the tone arm thereof, of an arm engaging the tone arm for automatically shifting the latter outward, a vertical rod carrying said arm, a pneumatic arranged to lift said rod, a second pneumatic arranged to rock said rod and thereby shift the tone arm outwardly, means for exhausting said pneumatics, means for relatively retardingexhaustion of the rod rocking pneumatic, a valve controlling exhaustion of said pneumatics, and means for operating said valve by said rod in predetermined position of the latter.

2. In a phonograph, the combination with the tone arm thereof, of a vertical rod havadapted to raise and rock said rod when collapsed, a rock arm carried by said rod, a valve member carried by said arm, a pair of control members for said valve member disposed at each side of saidvalve member,

adjustable to and from each other, means yieldably holding said control means adjusted, air exhausting means, a connection from said exhausting means to said pneumatics,

means for controlling said connection by said valve, and means for retarding the exhaustion of the rod rocking pneumatic beyond that ofthe rod lifting pneumatic.

3. In a phonograph, the combination with the tone arm thereof of a vertical rod functioning both as a rock shaft and plunger member, a connection between said rod and the tone arm for lifting the latter clear of the record through functioning of said rod as a plunger and for swinging the tone arm outwardly through functioning of said rod .as a. rock shaft, a pair of pneumatics respectively adapted to raise and rock said rod through collapsing, air exhausting means, a tubular connection between said means and said pneumatic, a movable valve member controlling said connection, means for effecting movement of said valve member through rocking of said rod and a, pair of control members for said valve member,-adjustable relative to the latter to be engaged thereby in various positions thereof.

4. In a phonograph,-the combination with the tone arm thereof, of a vertical rod functioning both as a plunger and rock shaft,

a connection between said rod and tone arm for lifting the latter, through functioning of the rod as a plunger and for swinging the tone-arm through functioning of the rod as a rock shaft, a pair of pneumatics associated with said rod, a pin carried by said rod, an arm projecting from one of said pneumatics and engaging said pin to exert an lip-thrust thereupon when the pneumatic collapses, a push rod connecting the other pneumatic to said pin for rotatively actuating the rod upon collapse of said pneumatic,

air exhausting means, a tubular connection between said means and said pneumatics, a

valve controlling said connection and adjust able control means for said valve.

5. In a phonograph, the combination with the tone arm thereof, of a vertical rod functioning alternatively as a plunger and rock shaft, a pair of pneumatics respectively adapted for raising and rocking said arm .When collapsed, air-exhausting means, a tubular connection between said means and the tone arm and easing thereof, of a rock arm within said casing, means for actuating said rock: arm from said tone arm, a pair of pneumatics for respectively rais ing and swinging the tone arm, air exhausting means, a. tubular connection between said means and said pneumatic, a valve controlling said connection carried by said rock arm, a pair of control members for said valve arranged one at each side of said rock arm, a pair of guide rods for said control members functioning further as clamping members to hold the control members variously adjusted, means yieldably urging said con-.

trol members toward each other.

In testimony whereof I aflix m signature.

' JACOB .LING. 

